


rare and sweet as cherry wine.

by paleromantic



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Light Angst, M/M, Mostly Fluff, abby accidentally burns neil with the iron, i know harry potter isnt on netflix dont come for me, im sick please be gentle, neil is upsetti but andrew takes care of him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-29 08:07:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17199746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paleromantic/pseuds/paleromantic
Summary: Neil’s hand was an angry red, the skin already starting to bubble on his fingers where it had obviously made brief contact with the iron somehow. Andrew swore, and then reached out to take his wrist gently, steering him towards the sink and turning the tap on.“Breathe, Neil.” He squeezed the man’s neck, but Neil wasn’t listening to him, too busy staring at his hand in horror. Andrew was painfully aware of the other Foxes gazes on them, and he turned to growl at them.“Get a fucking first aid kit.”





	rare and sweet as cherry wine.

**Author's Note:**

> enjoy!!!!

Andrew had taken his eyes off Neil for one second, when it happened.

It was just a regular Sunday, and they were all gathered in Abby’s kitchen either helping her to prepare the dinner, or staying the hell out of her way. Andrew fell into the latter group, while Neil was in the former, helping her to peel the potatoes while she ironed Wymack’s shirt for him to wear. He had come in with it wrinkled, and Abby had made him take it off so that she could fix it. Andrew empathised with her, trying her best to make Wymack care about clothes, and fashion. He was fighting his own losing battle, after all. Neil didn’t even look that bad that day, but that was mostly because he was wearing Andrew’s clothes. Andrew tried not to feel smug about it, and failed miserably. So he liked seeing Neil in his clothes. Sue him.

The reason that he had taken his eyes off Neil in the first place had been Kevin, because of course it had been.

“Andrew, look at this _save_.” A screen was shoved in his face, and Andrew turned an unimpressed look on him.

“Wow. Impressive.”

Kevin rolled his eyes and then rewinded it, tapping the screen. “Watch it, asshole. I know that you do this to learn new techniques, Neil told me.”

Andrew huffed. Traitor. He’d have to talk to Neil about that later.

A crash startled him and before he could even think he was on his feet, turning towards the sound of the noise. Kevin did the same, and Andrew had crossed the distance to Neil in a heartbeat. Neil had gone as white as a sheet, and Abby had abandoned her ironing board and backed away from him, apologising repeatedly.

“What happened.” Andrew gritted his teeth and reached out to rest his hand on the back of Neil's neck, providing his usual grounding pressure there. Neil shuddered at the contact, and finally choked out a breath, stepping away from the shattered bowl by he feet. In doing so, he raised his hand, and Andrew finally saw the source of the panic.

Neil’s hand was an angry red, the skin already starting to bubble on his fingers where it had obviously made brief contact with the iron somehow. Andrew swore, and then reached out to take his wrist gently, steering him towards the sink and turning the tap on.

“Breathe, Neil.” He squeezed the man’s neck, but Neil wasn’t listening to him, too busy staring at his hand in horror. Andrew was painfully aware of the other Foxes gazes on them, and he turned to growl at them.

“Get a fucking first aid kit.”

The others startled into movement, and before long Andrew had the materials he needed to dress Neil’s fingers, leaving him briefly to go to the freezer and pull out the ice tray. He ran it under the tap briefly and then returned to Neil who hadn't moved, frozen in his panic. Grabbing his free hand, he pressed an ice cube into the middle of his palm, closing his fingers over it.

“Abram. Look at me.” Neil flinched at the cold, but the new and unexpected sensation cleared some of the fog from his eyes and he slowly looked up and whimpered softly.

 "Andrew." He whispered hoarsely. "Help."

Andrew nodded once, and then glanced at Abby. “I’m afraid that we’ll have to take a rain check on the dinner.”

Abby, who had been covering her mouth and crying from the looks of things, simply nodded and then sniffed. “Neil, I’m so sorry…”

Neil shook his head and offered her a watery smile. “It was an accident, it’s fi-”

He winced, as Andrew squeezed his wrist gently, and then tried again. “It’s okay, Abby.”

Andrew grabbed their coats and the rest of their things, before leading Neil out, who still seemed to be in a daze. The door shut with a click, leaving the rest of them in stunned silence, until it was broken by Kevin.

“Andrew has him, he’ll be okay, Abby.”

Abby nodded, and then wiped her face with a tissue. “You’re right, you’re right.”

**********

Andrew could tell that Neil was in pain, but that he was trying to ignore it in some misguided attempt to not worry Andrew. He was cradling his hand on his lap and staring out the window, biting his lip gently and worrying it between his teeth.

“Neil.” Andrew adjusted his grip on the steering wheel and reached over to take Neil’s other hand, lacing their fingers together and then looking back at the road. Neil smiled idly and then reached to turn on the radio, only wincing a little.

“It doesn’t hurt that bad, Drew. It probably won’t even scar this time.”

“It hurts, though.” Neil’s silence was answer enough, and Andrew huffed. “You have to stop being a martyr at some point, Josten.”

Neil protested, but was ultimately silenced by a look from Andrew. They drove back the rest of the way listening to the soft music playing from the radio- Renee’s playlist, that Neil had grown to like.

 

Andrew changed the dressing on Neil’s hand as soon as they got back, before ushering him into the dorm and lying him down on the bed to relax.

“Drew, I’m not completely useless, I can still-”

Andrew thrusted a laptop into his boyfriend’s lap. “You’re going to sit here all night, and if you so much as reach too far to grab a drink then I’ll kill you.”

Neil grinned at him. “You’re so caring, Drew.”

Andrew rolled his eyes. “Fuck off.”

Neil laughed, and then slowly pulled up Netflix, the way Andrew had shown him to. Andrew grabbed a blanket and two bottles of water, before settling beside him and resting his head back against the wall.

“Can we keep going with the Harry Potters? Where were we?” Neil pulled it up and then looked at Andrew, who reached over to select the one they had been on. Then, he settled his arm over Neil’s shoulders and leaned over to watch the screen. He had watched them already, of course, but Neil hadn’t. Any excuse to lean on Neil was good enough for him too, as far as he was concerned.

God, when had he gotten so _soft_.

Neil quickly got immersed into the movie, and Andrew let his head settle on the man’s shoulders as they watched. Their hands found each other again, and they sat like that until the credits started to roll, Neil eagerly clicking to move on to the next one.

Andrew watched him, drowsy and comfortable, only moving his head when Neil spoke.

“Hey, Drew?”

“Mm?”

“Thanks, for this.”

Andrew rolled his eyes, and dropped a kiss on the man’s shoulder. “It was nothing.”

Neil smiled, soft and genuine. “Yeah, it was.”


End file.
